"Oh. Wow." Sam murmured. She stood atop a bluff, looking at the wide open field and the lake below. The sun had just begun its rise, painting the scattered clouds in vibrant shades of purple, pink and orange.

The morning air was crisp, the scents of nature floated around her on the late September breeze. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply. It had been a long time since she'd had this feeling. Actually, she'd never had this feeling.

Sure, there were moments of peace here and there. Like when she ran, the metronome of her footfalls drowning out the thoughts and voices that constantly plagued her mind.

When she trained with the martial arts expert she'd hired years ago. With him, she’d learned how to clear her mind and focus solely on the physical task at hand. Her sensei taught her how to shove the swirl of insanity from her mind to find focus, stillness, some semblance of peace. This however, this was a whole new level of bliss.

With two more weeks of this feeling, she might not care what happened when she returned to her company. Might, being the operative word.

She took a deep breath, let it out on a long sigh. If she was being honest, she definitely would care, did care. Maybe, for a short time though, she could take her friend's advice and just enjoy being a girl on vacation.

Maybe, for one moment in time, she could just be Sam, a girl enjoying life, not Samantha Covington - CEO of a billion dollar company.

She took another deep breath, enjoying the clean, Colorado air. For the first time, she was glad that Carla insisted on this trip. Getting out of New York was going to be good for her.

A distant rumble drew her back to the moment. She opened her eyes, glanced around, saw the dark clouds forming over the distant mountains.

Sam was a city girl who didn't know anything about weather in the mountains. She did know those clouds hadn't been there ten minutes ago. They certainly didn't look friendly as they moved swiftly in her direction. Time to head back to the ranch. Well, she was on the ranch. Time to head back to her cabin.

She had just turned down the small hill, when a loud crack of thunder made her jump. Move a little faster, then. It had taken about forty-five minutes at an easy pace to get here. She figured if she picked it up, using the downhill slope to her advantage, she should at least make it back in half an hour. Hoping it would be enough, Sam increased her pace to a solid run.

She was feeling quite proud of her stamina and stability both, maneuvering around tree roots and small rocks, keeping a steady pace, breathing evenly. Her chest started to burn from the thin air and she almost slowed down when another crack, this time sounding like it was right over her head, startled her. Her concentration slipped for a second. That was all it took for her toe to snag on an outcropped stone. Before she could catch herself, she was tumbling.

All those years of training paid off. Instinctively, she drew her limbs close, rolling, not flailing. When the ground leveled slightly, she came to a stop, breathing hard and a little stunned. She heard the crack again, came out of it, pushing. To her hands and knees, thankful that the chilly morning had compelled her to wear the thick tights and running jacket. Those had definitely saved her from multiple cuts and abrasions.

She allowed herself to stay there for a moment, pushed to her feet - and promptly fell back to the earth when her left ankle gave out. One more try, slowly.

Good. At least standing was possible. She couldn’t put her full weight on it, but upright had to be better than the ground.

That was when she felt it.

One drop on her nose.

Another on her forehead.

A couple on the top of her head and then the windows of heaven opened and the rain was falling hard.

Stay Calm. Assess.

Sam scanned her surroundings anxiously. The fall had disoriented her. She didn't see anything familiar, didn't know which direction was back to the ranch, to her cabin. Taking a couple of steps, she realized she wouldn't be able to get far, even if she did know which direction to take.

So much for peace. Her clothes were soaked through in a matter of minutes with the cold rain.

She needed someplace to hunker down. It sounded right, like something one should do in a situation like this. She spotted a small outcropping of rocks a few meters away that looked promising. At the very least, it would shield her from the wind.

Slowly, too slowly, Sam made her way to that rock and did just what she'd thought. She hunkered down, pressed her back against it, pulled her knees to her chest with her arms wrapped around them, and tried to think of how she was going to get out of this particular predicament.

Within a matter of minutes, she was clenching her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering violently, thinking that when she got out of this, she was going straight back to New York. To hell with what Carla thought. Who did she think she was, sending Samantha Covington to the wilderness?

In no universe was this a good idea.

Get a grip, she thought. Keep it together and find a way out. Her body was shaking violently. Her mind reviewing all the things she’d heard about hypothermia. I'd better not die out here, she thought. She needed to get back to New York so she could tell Carla her “good idea” had been the worst.